Bethune Catholic

Our CCD class is going to perform a play called "The Best Deed". Story is fairly simple (see plot summary below). The original story I read as child from a book my mother had as a child- one of the series of books entitled "Medal Stories", some of which are currently reprinted by Neumann Press under the title "Catholic Stories for Boys and Girls". When scripting the play from the story, some revisions were necessary as it had been originally written for younger children, and it could stand a little updating to be more relevant to the experiences of today's youth. When I was young, my brothers and sisters performed this play for my parents. I had a bit part because I was so young at the time. So when searching around for something this year, I naturally gravitated to something I knew.

Plot Summary: Several weeks before receiving Confirmation, the CCD class is given the assignment to do something special to prepare their hearts for receiving the Holy Spirit. It can be a service project or some other act of charity, piety or sacrifice.

Catherine Duffy has a hard time deciding what to do, but finally settles on a service project-but she never really completes it. She is side-tracked because while visiting the hospital where her father works she encounters a sick, cantankerous, and dying man, Mr. Finn, who believes he has been too evil in life for God to forgive him. Catherine spends the next several weeks praying for and visiting Mr. Finn trying to convince him to accept God’s mercy before he dies.

Mr. Finn is finally worn down by Catherine’s kindness and (with a little help from the Blessed Virgin Mary) finally goes to confession and then dies.

Catherine receives her Confirmation but thinks she has failed in preparing her heart-until her teacher tells her that her cooperation with God in saving Mr. Finn’s soul was indeed 'the best deed'.

Death bed conversions always move me deeply. (I was even breaking up when revising this script .) There was death bed conversion in the book "Fr. Elijah" by Michael O'Brien and another moving one in the short story "Candle Beams" (from the book of the same name) by Fr. Francis Finn SJ. Perhaps I am moved so much because I feel that I will need my own deathbed conversion to completely accept God's love? I don't know. But I am hoping this story will help the CCD students and those parents and parishioners who watch the performance to revalue the sacrament of Penance and help them think about the 4 Last Things.

While we will rehearse for the play outside of class, we did do a quick read thru at the end of class last night. I think this will be fun. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!